The South Australian Naturalist. ^1 



of aster (Olearia lepidophylla'l were found in flower, one with 

 delicate pink flowers and the other with white. A large num- 

 ber of cypress pines (Callitris cupressiformis) were seen grow- 

 ing on the rocky ground. This is not such a symmetrical 

 species as the one growing in the Flinders Range. 



Excursion to the Botanic Garden, June 17, 1922. — Con- 

 ducted by Mr. Bailey, a party of field naturalists spent a 

 pleasant and profitable afternoon. The neAv method of labelling 

 the plants was favourably commented upon by the visitors. 

 The labels are affixed in a horizontal position at about the level 

 of the eye, so that there is no longer any need to make an 

 acrobatic twist to get the information desired. The common 

 name is given in addition to the botanical designation, and the 

 danger of lockjaw thereby ob\dated. The casual visitor can 

 form but a slight conception of the great variety of plants from 

 so many different climes that are enclosed in the comparatively 

 small area. Queensland is especially Avell represented and 

 Eastern Australia generally. New Zealand supplies a few 

 characteristic plants. South Africa and South America have 

 several representatives. Our native plants, as a rule, do not 

 seem to flourish under cultivation. Like the aborigines and 

 the fauna, they seem to pine for the free, wild life and pure air 

 of the open spaces, and under cultivation are subject to diseases 

 of various kinds. Some species of eucalyptus and acacia were 

 observed. In rich damp soil the acacias tend to lie down. The 

 Melaleuca stypheliodes (teatree, so called because the surgeon 

 attached to Captain Cook's party made from the leaves a 

 villainous decoction which he called tea) is one of the hand- 

 somest of our native flora. The Eucalyptus calophylla of 

 W.A., with its beautiful white blossoms, grows well on the 

 Adelaide plains, as also does its pink variety, as well as the 

 Eucalyptus ficifolia, the handsome red-flowering gum. Two 

 magnificent specimens of the genus were seen in E. saligna 

 and E. citriodora. Many valuable timber trees grow in the 

 Garden, among which may be mentioned the silky oak, for- 

 merly much used for furniture ; the Flindersia Australis, or 

 Crow's ash, in texture resembling teak. A species of the genus 

 is called the Queensland maple. The cockspur thorn (Cudrania 

 Javanensis), found along the Queensland coast and as far 

 north as Java, is one of the most beautiful of timbers — black 

 in centre and yellow outside. Several species of Araucaria 

 thrive in the Garden : A Cookii. which was seen with cones at 

 the end of the branches. The A. Bidwillii. called the Bunya 

 Bunya, from the mountains of the same name in Queensland, 

 is greatly prized by the aborigines, who assemble periodically 

 in the Bunya forest and hold a great corroboree while they 



